Could this be Why FDA Ignores Investigations and Enforcement?

A lawsuit alleges former FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg used the FDA to run a massive conspiracy of racketeering and fraud to generate millions in drug company profits. Are other FDA employees profiting from FDA’s lack of investigation and enforcement of pet food?

Could this be why? Why FDA has investigated Chinese imported jerky treats for 8 years yet never found a cause for thousands of pet deaths? Why FDA never tested Beneful for cause of pet deaths and illness linked to the pet food? Why FDA openly allows some pet foods to violate federal law? Are some individuals at FDA benefiting financially from lack of enforcement?

A lawsuit against drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson has been updated recently opening up a huge can of worms. The updated suit alleges Johnson & Johnson worked with former FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg (and others) to suppress information that a popular drug – Levaquin (antibiotic) was dangerous and that consumers were not properly warned. “This Amended Complaint sets forth allegations that involve a conspiracy by Defendants, each and every one of them, to reap large financial returns by failing to disclose to Plaintiffs and the public at large the full extent of the devastating, life-threatening, and deadly effects of a highly dangerous pharmaceutical drug named Levaquin.” The suit claims “over 5,000 people died as a result of consuming Levaquin” and other drugs promoted by Johnson & Johnson.

The lawsuit states that Dr. Margaret Hamburg failed to disclose to Congress her certain conflict of interest. “In and around May 26, 2009, Defendant Hamburg was forced to divest herself of several hedge fund holdings, as was her husband, Defendant Brown. This was done in order for her to take the position as the top food and drug regulator without any real or apparent conflicts of interest. However, the conflict of interest herein was never resolved.”

Defendant Hamburg’s husband controlled a hedge-fund that owned millions of dollars worth of Johnson & Johnson stock and the family investments continued to own conflict of interest stock during her entire tenure as FDA Commissioner. It was stated that before Dr. Hamburg was appointed FDA Commissioner (2008), her husband’s annual income was “$10 million”. After she was appointed Commissioner, her husband’s annual income increased to “$125 million in 2011”.

“Once confirmed as FDA Commissioner, Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg acted as the instrumentality that all Defendants used to perpetrate their conspiracy and racketeering enterprise by having her act illegally and outside the scope of her authority as FDA Commissioner to suppress material information to Plaintiffs and the public that Levaquin was inherently dangerous and in fact, deadly. Had this information been disclosed to Plaintiffs and the public at large, her and her husband’s financial gain and net worth would have plummeted, since Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg’s husband, Peter F. Brown, reaped and continues to reap huge financial gain as a result of Renaissance Technologies, L.L.C.’s holdings of Johnson & Johnson stock.”

The question has to be asked…Did Dr. Margaret Hamburg provide ‘favors’ or suppress information about Hill’s or Science Diet pet food during her reign at FDA?

In 2014 – while Dr. Margaret Hamburg was Commissioner at FDA, the FDA provided pet food the ONLY opportunity of any food to make the claim “cure, mitigate, treat or prevent diseases”. Human food cannot state it can cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease – even with a stack of scientific studies to prove such. But in 2014 FDA decided that prescription pet foods can.

The largest manufacturer of prescription pet food is Hill’s. Dr. Margaret Hamburg’s husband’s hedge fund owned $145 Million worth of parent company Colgate Palmolive. Is it coincidence that FDA decided to allow pet food and only pet food to make the claim to cure disease during Dr. Margaret Hamburg’s reign at FDA?

And that made me wonder about the other possible pet food investment opportunities for Dr. Hamburg or other FDA officials…example Nestle Purina. Nestle stock currently sells for more than $70 a share.

Nestle Purina is the parent company of Waggin Train jerky treats and Beneful Dog Food. Waggin Train jerky treats have been linked to pet illness and death since 2007, yet FDA has mysteriously never found a certain cause for thousands of pet deaths linked to the treats. Had FDA found a cause certainly linking Waggin Train jerky treats to pet deaths, the lawsuits against the company would have been significantly higher (costing stock holders money). Coincidence?

Beneful Dog Food has been linked to pet illness and death for several years; the brand is involved in a class action lawsuit since last year. Even though FDA has received hundreds of adverse event reports regarding Beneful dog food, through Freedom of Information Act we learned the FDA has NEVER tested Beneful dog food for causes of the many pet illnesses and deaths. Coincidence?

Freshpet Pet Food moved to a stock offering company in 2014. For almost a year, thousands of complaints of mold in this pet food have been reported all over the internet. FDA has not investigated this brand. Coincidence?

Darling International – the largest rendering company in the US – offered stock to investors beginning in 2013. The FDA openly allows Darling International and all other rendering companies to sell illegal ingredients (sourced from diseased or dead non-slaughtered animals) to be used in pet food. FDA’s official approval of illegal ingredients provides billions in profits to ingredient suppliers such as publicly traded Darling and publicly traded pet food companies such as Purina. Does anyone at FDA have a financial interest in Darling International or other public companies selling or using illegal ingredients or is this just a coincidence?

Is what has been alleged against Dr. Margaret Hamburg – conspiracy and racketeering – being repeated by others at FDA in pet food? Is this the motive of FDA failing to investigate some pet foods and failing to enforce law?

And yet it happens all the time. It still boggles my mind that the tobacco industry exists at all. Almost all of our industries cause damage and yet ignore it for the sake of profit and power. I am thinking of fracking, mining, trawling, etc. etc.

Ummm…I did a little research and Hamburg was appointed by Obama. This is deep. Why are pets sickened and killed by feed, treats, etc…and those who are paid to protect them turn a blind eye? THE MONEY. Everyone is in bed with everybody.
Susan, thank you (doesn’t really articulate the gratitude) for your bravery. For doing the right thing. Please take steps and measures to stay safe.

Ian, You are right to think that this would be a story for any investigative team, I have been in touch with both CBS and ABC, neither have moved forward even when their reporters showed interest, perhaps the advertising dollars of Nestle and it’s holding play a more important role in deciding just what gets air time!

Anthony,
I.have mentioned in previous posts that Susan should contact Bill Maher, who is a big animal advocate. He is also executive producer of the show VICE, which is also on Halo. The show does investigative reporting on many “heavy hitting & controversial topics”. Maybe they would be interested in taking this issue on. If you have already contacted other networks already, maybe you could.do the leg-work & get the ball started for Susan. I really wish we could get several celebrity’s involved that are big animal advocates. This would help build momentum, & potentially could attract more celebrities on board. I say this because it will help force the subject matter into a more “mainstream awareness”. Betty White is one of the the first people that comes to mind. At her age, I am sure she is fed up & fearless!

Ian,
Not 60 minutes! At one time, maybe, but not so certain, anymore. They have been guilty of inaccurate reporting for a long time now. The president of CBS even admitted that he kept covering Donald Trump, although it wasn’t good for the country, because it gave his station good ratings and lots of money. All MSM is owned by 6 major conservative corporations. I wouldn’t expect honest, integrity or objective reporting there.

Although still better than the most broadcast TV media, sadly, I would no longer even trust PBS, after their 1/16 Frontline Report bashing supplements. Not only was it very biased and inaccurate, but it involved pharmaceutical industry connections/conflicts of interest, which they denied existed. Besides this offense, the corrupt anti-science Koch brothers have been sponsors of the science program, Nova, major donors and may still be on their board of directors!

Maybe John Oliver. He loves injustices, like this, and is one of the most thorough honest objective reporters (although through comedy) on TV. His program may not get the exposure that CBS does, but I would trust their report more and believe there would be a better chance in having it covered.

Unfortunately, I believe there is way more gov’t corruption that most citizens realize. The FDA has been mistrusted for many years now, especially their relationship with the pharmaceutical industry, that with their expensive patents, practically, supports this agency. It has, also, been very obvious that the pet food industry has wielded considerable unnatural influence over them.

In a Forbes article from 2013 entitled, “Is The FDA Being Compromised By Pharma Payments?” (just search this title on Forbes.com), by John LaMattina, he quotes Donald W. Light of the School of Public Health, University of Medicine & Dentistry of NJ, and then paraphrases:

“This is a pretty damning comment. Basically, Light is saying that pharma paid congressmen to sponsor legislation that results in the FDA being beholden to pharma for funding for its work. Implicit in this is that, as a result of these large “contributions”, the grateful FDA is rapidly approving medicines that are harmful.”

The blatant conflict of interest is mind-boggling! How could they not be in bed with Big Pharma? No doubt they’re similarly in bed with other large industries.

Without linking any FDA official with any political entity, we still must ask’ Why do FDA officials continue to refuse to enforce their own regulations’. These regulations were put in place to protect the consumers and their pets, they were never meant to be circumvented for the profits of either the rendering industry or the pet food manufacturers.
There has been a clear and willful disregard for these regulations with not a single hint of responsibility to meet the needs of the public and their pets. Dr Daniel McChesney and his staff have shown total disregard for the very principles he stated In his public report “Food Waste to Animal Feed” where he stated “General recognition cannot be based on absence of studies that demonstrate a substance is unsafe; there must be studies or other information to establish that the substance is safe” he followed that with case law to make his point, but when confronted with his own writing, declined to comment. Something stinks at FDA/CVM.

I like that idea a lot. I’m not sure how many people I know that use Twitter, either casually, or regularly… But I’m sure we could spread the word, and get that tweet out there. 🙂 Maybe if anyone also knows any other websites that are pro-truth, or are in general, against the crap the FDA is trying to pull, along with the crap that the pet food companies are trying to pull…and put in our pet’s foods. I’m sure there’s other organizations out there that would be interested in going along with this…maybe? Maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part. Lol.